Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Housing: Feltham and Heston

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in Feltham and Heston constituency with cavity walls have been insulated as of 31 October 2022.

Graham Stuart: BEIS estimates that under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and Green Homes Grant (GHG) government schemes, around 1,700 cavity wall insulation measures have been installed in Feltham and Heston constituency. Data for ECO covers January 2013 to September 2022. Data for the GHG schemes cover October 2020 to September 2022.

Department of Health and Social Care

Medical Records: Data Protection

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's policy is on the sharing of personal health data with organisations outside the NHS (a) with and (b) without a person's permission.

Will Quince: The use of patient information must comply with data protection legislation and the common law duty of confidence, where appropriate. Personal health data can only be used for purposes beyond individual care and treatment in specific circumstances and there must be a legal basis for any disclosure.Confidential patient information can only be shared for non-health purposes where an individual has provided consent, where there is an over-riding public interest, where the information is required by law, or where there is a legal gateway which sets aside the common law duty of confidence. Any disclosure of patient data held within NHS Digital must comply with section 261 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Applications for access to patient data held by NHS Digital is made to its Data Access Request Service.The National Data Opt-Out introduced in 2018 allows patients, in specified circumstances, to opt-out of their information being used for research or planning purposes and has been mandatory since 31 July 2022.

Department of Health and Social Care: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department’s publication of electronic purchasing card spending over £500, for what purpose his Department paid Revolution Events Ltd (a) £4,672.80 on 22 December 2021 and (b) £5,752.80 from 19-26 September 2022.

Will Quince: This expenditure relates to the cost of six civil servants’ attendance at the International Records Management Society Conference in May 2021 and May 2022.

Medical Records: Data Protection

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of provisions in the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill on giving data controllers discretion to decide when personal data can be classified as anonymous on the privacy of patients with sensitive private health issues; and whether his Department plans to introduce safeguards to ensure that data controllers only reclassify data when it is correct to do so.

Will Quince: The UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 set out the conditions which apply to the processing of personal and special category data, which includes health data. The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill will not amend the classification of special category data or remove safeguards.

Mental Illness: Prisoners

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prisoners have been diagnosed with a mental illness in the last 12 months.

Maria Caulfield: This information is not held in the format requested.

Medicine: Research

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve data management to help the carrying out of longitudinal studies on the impact of medical and surgical interventions.

Will Quince: NHS England is investing up to £200 million in National Health Service data infrastructure to make data securely available to innovators. This includes investment in a network of NHS Secure Data Environments to efficiently provide access to data while offering the highest levels of privacy. This includes earlier access to new innovations which improve patient outcomes and monitoring of the safety and efficacy of medical and surgical interventions.

Mental Health Services: Females

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Women's Health Strategy, whether he has had meetings with stakeholders in mental health on improving healthcare professionals listening to women’s mental health needs since the publication of that strategy.

Maria Caulfield: Ministers have had no such meetings since the Women’s Health Strategy was published on 20 July 2022.However, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health and Women’s Health Strategy met with Professor Dame Lesley Regan, the Women’s Health Ambassador for England, on 20 December 2022 to discuss a range of issues regarding the implementation of the Women’s Health Strategy.

Department of Health and Social Care: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason his Department's spending by electronic purchasing card solution over £500 for August 2022, published on 11 November 2022, replicates the data for July 2022, published on 27 September 2022; and when the correct data for August will be published.

Will Quince: Due to an administrative error, a duplicate file was published. The correct information is available the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dhsc-spending-over-500-august-2022

Mental Health: Females

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken in helping to improve women’s mental health in ensuring that the different experiences of women are considered in policy making.

Maria Caulfield: We launched a 12-week public call for evidence on longer term measures to support mental health, wellbeing and suicide prevention, which closed on 7 July 2022. We are currently analysing the over 5,000 submissions received from a range of stakeholders in England, including women’s organisations. We have also appointed a Women’s Health Ambassador for England to raise the profile of women’s health, increase awareness and work with stakeholders, including women and girls from under-served groups, to implement the Women’s Health Strategy.

Department of Health and Social Care: Incentives

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2022 to Question 97502 on Department of Health and Social Care: Incentives, whose commercial interests would be affected by the disclosure of the information requested.

Will Quince: The disclosure of the information requested could affect Edenred’s commercial interests as the Department’s provider of non-cash vouchers.

Mental Health Services

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in reference to page 92 of the Women’s Health Strategy, following the analysis of the call for written evidence submissions, what steps his Department has taken to encourage research on the evidence base on trauma informed care in England.

Maria Caulfield: The National Institute for Health and Care Research welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including trauma informed care. However, it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. We have recently published a working definition of trauma informed practice for the health and care sector.

Surgery: City of Durham

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of cancelled operations in the City of Durham in the last 12 months.

Will Quince: The data requested is not held centrally.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the uptake of HPV vaccination was for every year since 2015.

Maria Caulfield: The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake by birth cohort, academic year, dose and country from 2014/15 to 2020/21 is attached. The United Kingdom Health Security Agency publish the HVP vaccination coverage in adolescent females and males in England and report on an annual basis. This latest data for the academic year 2021 to 2022 was published on 20 December and is available from the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/human-papillomavirus-hpv-vaccine-coverage-estimates-in-england-2021-to-2022Uptake of HPV vaccine since 2015 (docx, 25.6KB)

Maternity Services: Finance

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the budget for NHS maternity services is for 2022/23; and how much was spent on the provision of maternity services in each of the last five years.

Maria Caulfield: There is no national budget for maternity services, as this is not commissioned by NHS England. Maternity services are commissioned by integrated care boards based on the needs of the local population.The following table shows reference cost data for expenditure on National Health Service maternity services in England in each year from 2015/16 to 2019/20.Financial yearExpenditure on maternity services2015/16£2.58 billion2016/17£2.72 billion2017/18£2.84 billion2018/19£2.81 billion2019/20£2.89 billion Data since 2020/21 is not currently held as maternity expenditure is derived from reference costs data to 2019/20, the most recently available information.

Mental Health Services: Prisoners' Release

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mental health support is available to former prisoners after their release; and if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of that support.

Maria Caulfield: The RECONNECT programme was launched in 2019 to improve the continuity of care for vulnerable people leaving prison. These services support prison leavers pre- and post-release to engage with community based health services, including mental health services, to ensure their health is maintained and improved, reduce inequalities and address health-related causes of offending behaviours.NHS England is also piloting the enhanced RECONNECT service, supporting high-risk offenders with complex health needs to engage with appropriate treatment from community-based mental health, substance misuse and other services for up to a year after release.

NHS: Strikes

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential risk to patient care from industrial action in the NHS.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if will he publish his Department's contingency plans for industrial action in the NHS.

Will Quince: Employers and trade unions will discuss local derogations, which will identify which services are exempt from strike action in order to protect patient safety. Realistically, some procedures and appointments will need to be postponed, this is why we’re asking unions to carefully consider the impact on patients.The Department is working closely with NHS England who are accountable for operational planning and assurance in the event of any industrial action.Exercise ‘Arctic Willow’, a multi-day exercise for Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), working with trusts, is currently taking place. This will test the system to ensure services can respond to multiple, concurrent events. Data from this exercise will be coordinated through ICBs and returned to NHS England. Findings will be complete by mid-December.

Department of Health and Social Care: Trade

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff in his Department have been allocated to deal with issues related to international trade in (a) each of the past five years and (b) the next two years; and if he will make a statement.

Will Quince: The Department has a central coordinating team working directly on issues related to international trade. The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in the central coordinating team in each of the last five years.YearFTE officials2022/2311.72021/2211.72020/2182019/2082018/197 In the next two years, the number of staff will be dependent on business planning. The central team is supported by advice from Departmental officials on specific policy areas as needed.

Department of Health and Social Care: Carbon Emissions

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when they expect their Department to be carbon neutral in its day-to-day operations.

Will Quince: The Government is committed to delivering Net Zero by 2050. Central Government reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% in 2019-20 compared to a 2009/10 baseline, exceeding its target of 43%.The Greening Government Commitments set out the actions that United Kingdom Government departments and its agencies will take to reduce the impact on the environment, including targets for departmental reductions in greenhouse gas emissions for the period 2021 to 2025. The Department is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions wherever possible and has ambitious targets under the Greening Government Commitments.

NHS: Procurement

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to establish clear and transparent processes for the selection of criteria for the procurement of NHS services.

Will Quince: The Provider Selection Regime assists commissioners with criteria to assess providers of healthcare services when arranging services. NHS England consulted on these criteria in 2021, which were developed with stakeholders in the health and care system. We will provide an update on the delivery of the Provider Selection Regime in due course, which will include provisions to ensure transparency in the procurement of healthcare services. These rules will be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny through the affirmative process before coming into force.

NHS: Waiting Lists

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of the backlog in maintenance issues within the NHS on the elective recovery plan.

Will Quince: No recent assessment has been made. We have provided £4 billion in 2022/23 and £12 billion over the next three years for the modernisation of National Health Service buildings.We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity. The target to eliminate waiting times of two years or more for elective procedures was met in July 2022 and we aim to eliminate waiting time of eighteen months or more by April 2023. We are also investing an additional £3.3 billion in 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support the NHS in England and improve emergency, elective and primary care performance to pre-pandemic levels.

Department of Health and Social Care: Vacancies

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if they will list the five teams in their Department with the highest number of staffing vacancies as a percentage of staff as of 8 December 2022; and what is the percentage of roles vacant in each of those teams.

Will Quince: The following table shows the five Directorates with the highest number of staffing vacancies and the vacancy rate by percentage of staff, as recorded by the Department’s central resourcing team on 25 November 2022.Chief Medical Officer Group14.3%Finance Group11.8%Adult Social Care Group10.4%NHS Policy and Performance Group6.2%Chief Scientific Adviser Group4.4%

NHS: ICT

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of current IT systems and services within the NHS.

Will Quince: In June 2022, we published ‘A plan for digital health and social care’ which states how we will improve the efficiency and efficacy of technology used in the National Health Service. We have committed to measure the capability of IT in the NHS in England through an annual digital maturity assessment.

Department of Health and Social Care: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department spent in 2021 on purchasing goods and services with a value of less than £500 on a government procurement card.

Will Quince: In 2021, £125,739 was spent on goods and services with a value of less than £500 through a Government procurement card.

Wexham Park Hospital

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to make additional resources available to Wexham Park Hospital.

Will Quince: The autumn statement provides an additional £3.3 billion for the National Health Service in 2023/24 and 2024/25. This will enable increases to commissioner budgets and resources for providers such as Wexham Park Hospital.

Department of Health and Social Care: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for May 2021, for what purpose a payment of £1,000 was made to “RAZ OMR GLOBAL” on 18 May 2021.

Will Quince: This refers to an organisation which processes invoices and payments on behalf of Orion Market Research. The payment to Orion Market Research relates to a market insights report.

NHS: Accountancy

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's policy is on the accounting treatment of assets acquired by the NHS after the end of the term of a Private Finance Initiative.

Will Quince: The Department accounting policy for acquired private finance initiative (PFI) assets follows the approach in HM Treasury’s Financial Reporting Manual (FReM). This states how Departments and its bodies are expected to apply International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The Department will account for owned assets at the end of a PFI per International Accounting Standard (IAS) 16: Plant, Property and Equipment as adapted and interpreted by the FReM.Where a PFI arrangement is accounted for as on the Statement of Financial Position, the approach to accounting for an acquired asset will not change at the end of the PFI arrangement. The Department’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2020/21 states that 175 of 182 PFI arrangements are accounted for as owned assets on the Statement of Financial Position. If any asset is acquired at the end of one of the remaining seven PFI arrangements not already accounted for as assets on the Statement of Financial Position, any asset would be accounted for using the relevant standard, following the guidance of the FReM in applying IFRS.

Department of Health and Social Care: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for May 2021, for what purpose payments totalling £5,068.01 were made to Enterprise Rent-A-Car on 21 May 2021.

Will Quince: The payment relates to a number of short term hire car rentals.

Ambulance Services: Military Aid

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is her Department's policy that army personnel operating civilian ambulances in an emergency will be exempted from (a) stopping at red lights and (b) adhering to the speed limit.

Will Quince: Where deployed, military personnel are expected to observe normal traffic laws when driving ambulances. They have been fully trained to support the ambulance service and operate with ambulance staff, who are trained to drive under blue light conditions when necessary.

Department of Health and Social Care: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for May 2021, for what purpose a payment of £4,320 was made to Thanet District Council on 19 May 2021.

Will Quince: The Department made a payment to Thanet Council for the COVID-19 Regional Testing Programme needed to print 120,000 lateral testing certificates.

NHS: Protective Clothing

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department spent on consultants for the personal protective equipment programme, including costs associated with the resolution of disputed contracts, between January 2020 to November 2022.

Will Quince: The Department has spent £26.5 million on consultancy and legal costs for all aspects of the personal protective equipment programme, including costs associated with the resolution of legal contracts from April 2020 to November 2022. The programme was established in April 2020, therefore the information requested prior to this date is not held.At the start of quarter one 2022, examination of contracts where there was some degree of dissatisfaction related to 176 contracts of 394 in total that the Department made. We are on course to recover significant funds through this programme of work.

NHS: ICT

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing minimum IT standards across the NHS.

Will Quince: We are currently determining how relevant standards in the National Health Service could be enforced. Legislation to enforce technical standards in healthcare providers was originally defined in Section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012. These powers have been strengthened in the Health and Care Act 2022 to ensure that all health and adult social care providers comply with standards published as information standards notices.

NHS: Protective Clothing

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2022 to Question 78673 on NHS: Protective Clothing, what proportion of the 7.4 billion items of personal protective equipment stored in warehouses in the UK is damaged or unusable; and what the daily cost is of the storage of those 7.4 billion items.

Will Quince: As of 24 October 2022, there were 7.7 billion items of personal protective equipment (PPE) stored in United Kingdom warehouses, of which 467 million items or 6.1% were not fit for use. The daily cost of storing PPE in UK warehouses is estimated to be £371,000.

NHS: Procurement

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking taking to establish clear mechanisms to handle disputes in the procurement of NHS services.

Will Quince: Mechanisms to handle such disputes are already in place. However, the Department and NHS England are establishing the Provider Selection Regime to replace existing mechanisms with a new procurement regime designed with stakeholders from the health and care system. Further information on the delivery of the Provider Selection Regime will be available in due course. The rules for the Provider Selection Regime will be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny through the affirmative process before coming into force.

NHS: Protective Clothing

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many civil servants does his Department employ to manage the disposal of Personal Protective Equipment.

Will Quince: The information is not held in the requested format. Officials working on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are engaged in policy development, analysis, finance, and reporting among others. Overseeing the disposal of PPE is just one part of the work these officials carry out.

Data Protection and Digital Information Bill

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill on (a) the transparent use of NHS data and (b) ensuring that NHS data is not used to generate profit.

Will Quince: ‘A plan for digital health and social care’ sets out standards on interoperability and architecture to enable all relevant health and care data to be accessible to those with a legitimate right to do so. In addition, ‘Data saves lives: reshaping health and social care with data’ states the importance of transparency in building trust and retaining public confidence. These principles are protected within the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill. The United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulations and the Data Protection Act 2018 set out the conditions which apply to the processing of personal data. The National Health Service does not sell data and does not allow data to be used solely for commercial purposes. All applications for access to data must have a health or care benefit. The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill will not amend how this data is treated.

Teplizumab

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in the United States on Teplizumab; and (b) what stage Teplizumab is at in the licensing process.

Will Quince: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is unable to provide the information requested as it is commercially sensitive.

Health Services

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans that the new NHS Provider Selection Regime will be implemented and associated guidance published.

Will Quince: The Department and NHS England are currently establishing the Provider Selection Regime. Further information on delivery and the publication on statutory guidance will be available in due course. The rules which will set out the Provider Selection Regime will be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny through the affirmative process before coming into force.

NHS: Protective Clothing

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department has spent on external legal advice to support the personal protective equipment programme since 6 June 2022.

Will Quince: From June 2022 until the end of November 2022, the Department has spent £1,011,431 on external legal advice for matters relating to personal protective equipment (PPE). This includes contract dispute resolution, judicial reviews and PPE legal advice.At the start of quarter one 2022, examination of contracts where there was some degree of dissatisfaction related to 176 contracts of 394 in total that the Department made. We are on course to recover significant funds through this programme of work.

NHS England

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the performance of the non-executive board members of NHS England and Improvement.

Will Quince: NHS England’s Chair and non-executive directors are subject to an annual objective setting and performance review process. Non-executive board members of NHS Improvement were also subject to this process, prior to NHS Improvement being abolished. The Department’s Directors General or senior departmental sponsors of public bodies are responsible for agreeing objectives for and reviewing the contribution of Chairs including NHS England and this process is managed by Chairs for non-executive directors. In line with the Governance Code for Public Appointments, evidence of performance is shared with the Secretary of State.

NHS: Protective Clothing

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant the Answer 15 November 2022 to Question 83599 on NHS: Protective Clothing, when he plans to publish details of legal fees for disputed contracts.

Will Quince: The Department continues to undertake due process on disputed contracts. While it would potentially be prejudicial to the legal process to provide the information requested, the Department expects to publish a summary of the total legal fees when the contract resolution process is concluded.

NHS: ICT

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what computer operating systems are currently in use in the NHS.

Will Quince: The primary operating system in use in the National Health Service is Microsoft Windows 10 and is on over 1.7 million devices. Locally other operating systems will be in use but that information is not collected centrally.

Hospices: Children

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that funding for children’s hospices working across multiple Integrated Care Boards is not reduced when funding is devolved to individual boards.

Neil O'Brien: Integrated care boards (ICBs) have a legal duty to commission palliative and end of life care services that meet the needs of their population, including those of children and young people. It is for ICBs to decide how to distribute resources in local areas by addressing priorities. To support transition to the new ICBs from the predecessor clinical commission group (CCG) structure, NHS England has disaggregated allocations to CCG level, in line with its share of the weighted population of the ICB. The development of seven palliative and end of life care Strategic Clinical Networks will support working between integrated care systems and help develop sustainable commissioning models.

Dental Services: Autism and Learning Disability

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the new clinical standards to improve access to dental care for children and young people with a (a) learning disability and (b) autism will be published.

Neil O'Brien: New clinical standards are due to be published in 2023/24 to support the appropriate planning and delivery of sensory checks for autistic children and young people and those with a learning disability in special residential schools.Children and young people patient pathways and services are already detailed in the Commissioning Standard for Dental Specialties – Paediatric Dentistry which is available to commissioned National Health Service Oral Health Teams.

General Practitioners: Barking and Dagenham

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding the NHS allocated to the following General Practice Surgeries, (a) Abbey Medical Centre, (b) Aurora Medcare, (c) Barking Medical Group Practice, (d) Dr R Chibber's Practice, (e) Faircross Health Centre, (f) Five Elms Medical Practice, (g) Gables Surgery, (h) Hedgemans Surgery, (i) Highgrove Surgery, (j) John Smith Medical Centre, (k) Julia Engwell Health Centre, (l) Ripple Road Medical Centre, (m) Shifa Medical Practice, (n) St Albans Surgery, (o) The White House, (p) Urswick Medical Centre, and (q) Victoria Medical Centre in (i) 2018-29, (ii) 2019-20, (iii) 2020-21.

Neil O'Brien: A table showing the funding allocated to the general practice surgeries requested is attached. The attached information is collected in the NHS Payments to General Practice data publication and constitutes the majority of actual monies paid to these practices for all activities and costs in each year from 2018/19 to 2020/21. Practices may also receive other payments which are not currently recorded in this data collection. This may include:- from other organisations such as local authority public health bodies;- monies owed but not paid to individual practices;- income from private services such as travel vaccinations and certificates and local authorities;- investment from centrally led or procured elements of transformational investments; and- investments by trusts in general practice services in accident and emergency departments.GP surgery funding (docx, 27.5KB)

Members: Correspondence

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter of 3 November 2022 from the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton and others on an Independent Review of alcohol harm.

Neil O'Brien: We replied to the hon. Member on 21 December 2022.

Dental Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department provides to integrated care boards to help them provide access to NHS dentistry in their area for (a) children and young people, (b) elderly people and (c) disabled and vulnerable people.

Neil O'Brien: Many of the dentistry commissioning functions currently undertaken by NHS England will move to integrated care boards (ICBs) under delegation from April 2023. ICBs will be responsible for having local processes in place to involve patient groups and for undertaking oral health needs assessments, to identify areas of need and determine the priorities for investment.Prior to delegation decisions being taken, NHS England undertook a comprehensive pre-delegation assessment process, ensuring ICBs were ready to take on commissioning responsibility for delegated functions. NHS England has made available to commissioners an Assurance Framework which sets out its approach to providing assurance that commissioning functions are carried out safely and effectively by ICBs and is providing active support to all ICBs during the transition period.

Mental Health Services: Expenditure

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Family Hubs and the Start for Life programme, what proportion of the £100 million allocated for bespoke parent-infant relationship and perinatal mental health support has been spent as of 16 December 2022.

Neil O'Brien: The three-year Family Hubs and Start for Life programme launched on 8 August 2022. Of the £100 million investment, we plan to distribute approximately £92.8 million to the 75 local authorities participating in the programme. Local authorities receive the initial allocation at the time of joining, with further payments released across the three years.The remaining funding will be used for national initiatives to support local delivery. This includes training programmes for evidence-based parent-infant relationship interventions to improve staff capability and a ‘national centre for supervision’ that will enable practitioners to access high quality clinical supervision.

Dental Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether integrated care boards are allowed to deliver NHS dentistry through NHS Trusts.

Neil O'Brien: NHS England will be delegating many aspects of primary dental commissioning to integrated care boards (ICBs) from April 2023 under the Health and Care Act 2022. It is expected that ICBs will apply the same considerations to commissioning decisions as NHS England. All potential providers can bid for new services as they become available if they can meet the conditions set out in the National Health Service dental contract, this is inclusive of NHS trusts.

Dental Services

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many new dental practices offering NHS appointments have opened in each year since 2015.

Neil O'Brien: This information is not held in the format requested.

Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to place on a statutory footing the Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry into the deaths of mental health inpatients in Essex between 2000 and 2020.

Neil O'Brien: We will consider the progress of the Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry and whether it should remain on a non-statutory footing.

Dentistry

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the percentage of newly qualified dentists entering private practice; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring newly qualified dentists to work a set number of years under NHS contracts.

Neil O'Brien: The information requested is not collected centrally. However, 95% of newly qualified dentists enter a foundation training year which includes Nation Health Service training and enables these dentists to deliver NHS dental care.The Government has committed to publishing a workforce plan next year, which will include independently verified forecasts for the number of healthcare professionals required in future years, taking account of improvements in retention and productivity. This will include dental care professionals.

Contraceptives

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for contraception services; and whether his Department has plans to review funding levels for contraception.

Neil O'Brien: No assessment has been made of the adequacy of funding for contraceptive services and the Department currently have no plans to review funding levels for contraception.The Government has provided more than £3.4 billion of ring-fenced funding to local authorities in England in 2022/23 to fund public health services, including contraceptive provision in sexual health services. It is for individual local authorities to determine spending priorities based on an assessment of local need, including the need for contraceptive services taking account of statutory duties.

Vitamin D

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the consumption of daily Vitamin D supplements.

Neil O'Brien: In 2016, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) published an assessment of the evidence on vitamin D and a range of health outcomes. The SACN’s recommendations informed the current Government advice for a daily 10 microgram supplement of vitamin D to be taken throughout autumn and winter for musculoskeletal health due to reduced sunlight.Those at increased risk of receiving insufficient vitamin D are advised to consider taking a vitamin D supplement throughout the year: those with minimal sunshine exposure (housebound or institutionalised older people and those wearing clothes that cover most of the skin when outdoors) and population groups with dark skin (such as those with an African, African-Caribbean or south Asian background). All children aged one to four years old and babies not receiving more than 500 millilitres of infant formula a day are also advised to take a daily vitamin D supplement throughout the year.The Government’s Healthy Start scheme helps to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies and young children under four from low-income households. Healthy Start beneficiaries are also eligible for free Healthy Start Vitamins, which contain the recommended amount of vitamin D.

Department for Education

Special Educational Needs

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to Ofsted Annual Report 2021/22: education, children’s services and skills, published 13 December 2022, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed reforms to the SEND system on the (a) availability and (b) accessibility of SEND assessments for children.

Claire Coutinho: The Children and Families Act 2014 (part 3, section 36) sets out that a request for a local authority in England to secure an education, health and care needs assessment for a child or young person may be made to the authority by the child’s parent, the young person themselves or a person acting on behalf of a school or post-16 institution.The department’s aim is to create a more inclusive education system with excellent local mainstream provision, which will improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) and those who need alternative provision.In the Green Paper, the department proposed to establish a new national SEND and alternative provision (AP) system that will set new standards for how needs are identified and met across education, health and care. It has been suggested that there are currently inconsistencies in how and when needs are identified and met. The national standards will include guidance on how and when a child or young person should be identified as requiring SEN Support, and best practice in reasonable adjustments. These standards should improve consistency of identification, reducing the likelihood of misidentification driven by place, setting or other factors.The department is committed to publishing a full response to the SEND and AP Green Paper in an improvement plan early in 2023. The department will continue to support the system in the immediate term to deliver change, and continue to improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people with SEND and those who need AP.

Special Educational Needs

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help improve health and social care services' (a) engagement with and (b) support for children and families as part of the SEND reforms.

Claire Coutinho: The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper looks at the full range of the SEND system, spanning early years provision through to further education and encompassing education, health and care.Underpinning the proposals is the creation of a new set of national SEND and AP standards. The proposal aims to improve clarity and drive national consistency in how needs are assessed, identified and met across education, health and care.We are committed to better understanding the support that children and young people need from the specialist workforce, to support effective workforce planning. In the Green Paper, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) made a commitment to work with the Department for Education, NHS England and Health Education England to build the evidence base to assess the demand for the diagnostic and therapeutic workforce from children and young people with SEND.We will provide further detail about how we plan to improve health and social care services when we publish our response to the Green Paper through our Improvement Plan early in 2023.In February, we announced a new £30 million investment to provide short breaks over the next three years. Local areas can bid for a share of £30 million for the next three years to set up additional short break placements, helping to provide positive opportunities for disabled children and young people and to give family carers a break so they can look after vulnerable children better in the long-term.The Care Quality Commission and Ofsted have jointly inspected areas since 2016. In 2023 they will begin an updated inspection framework with a renewed focus on whether local areas are delivering improved outcomes for children and young people.We are committed to publishing an ambitious and detailed implementation strategy for children’s social care early in the new year. Our plans for children’s social care and SEND reform are being drawn up in parallel and we will continue to work closely with DHSC, so that reforms resulting from these reviews lead to a coherent system that works for all vulnerable children.

Foster Care: Higher Education

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help support children in foster care to attain a university education.

Claire Coutinho: Every local authority in England must appoint a Virtual School Head, who has a statutory duty to promote the educational achievement of all children in their care, wherever they live or are educated. Looked-after children draw Pupil Premium Plus funding of £2,410 per child up to age 16, which is managed by the Virtual School Head, to work with the child’s education setting to deliver objectives in their personal education plan (PEP). The PEP should set out the support needed to help realise the short and long-term academic outcomes for each child, and should focus on the child’s strengths, weaknesses, and outcomes they want to achieve, including attaining a higher education placement.In October 2021 the department launched a £3 million pilot in 30 local authorities for Virtual School Heads to provide targeted support to looked-after children and care leavers in further education. This has now been extended, with an additional £5 million of funding now supporting a total of 58 local authorities in 2022/23.Furthermore, the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care has made a number of recommendations to increase the proportion of care leavers in higher education. The department is carefully considering the recommendations made in the review, and will publish a detailed and ambitious implementation strategy early in early 2023.

Children: Food Poverty

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to take steps to help provide access to food over the Christmas holidays for school children who live in food poverty.

Claire Coutinho: The department has committed over £200 million this year for the holiday activities and food programme. This provides free holiday club places, including healthy meals, to children from low-income families, and is available in the Christmas, Easter and summer holidays. This enables local authorities to provide support to the families who need it most this Christmas.The government has also extended the Household Support Fund through to March 2023 bringing the total amount provided to local authorities to £1.5 billion since October 2021, enabling them to support children and families this winter.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Huang Qi

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussion he has had with his Chinese counterparts on the arrest and continued detention of independent journalist Huang Qi.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussion he has had with his Chinese counterparts on press freedom and the rights of journalists in that country.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: We regularly raise the deteriorating situation for journalists in China with the Chinese authorities, including cases such as the sentencing of citizen journalist and rights activist Huang Qi. British diplomats regularly seek to attend trials of journalists and human rights activists in China to show support.We also raise our concerns publicly where appropriate. In March, we highlighted concerns about media freedom in China in our 'Item 4' statement at the Human Rights Council. In November, the FCDO Minister for Human Rights issued three tweets on China's mistreatment of journalists to mark International Day Against Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists.

Jana Majdi Issam Assaf

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to raise the killing of 15-year-old Jana Majdi Issam Assaf in Jenin with his Israeli counterparts.

David Rutley: I extend my sympathies to the family of Jana Majdi Issam Assaf. Whilst we recognise Israel's legitimate need to deploy security measures, we encourage Israel to deploy these in a way which minimises tension and use of appropriate force. In instances where there have been accusations of excessive use of force, we advocate for swift, transparent investigations. We will continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population, particularly the need to protect children, and urge restraint in the use of live fire.

Development Aid

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what mechanisms his Department has in place to assess the conflict-sensitivity of humanitarian and development assistance funded by UK multi-lateral and non-government agencies.

Leo Docherty: FCDO places importance on ensuring humanitarian and development assistance is conflict sensitive. Conflict sensitivity advice is provided across FCDO by conflict technical advisers. In relation to assistance provided through multilateral organisation, the UK funds the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and the UN Peacebuilding Fund to place specialist Peace and Development advisers in-country responsible for driving conflict sensitivity in practice. The UK encourages all institutions to take conflict sensitivity seriously as reflected in the World Bank and the IMF Fragility Conflict and Violence strategies. FCDO funds initiatives, for example in Sudan, South Sudan, Lebanon, Yemen and Myanmar which increase coordination in the delivery of conflict sensitive aid.

Ghana: Personal Income

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of whether the Ghanaian Government has achieved its Millennium Development Goal 1A of halving the proportion of people in that country whose income is less than $1.25 a day.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance his Department has spent in Ghana in each of the last five years.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Ghana achieved the Millennium Development Goal 1A target of halving extreme poverty; the United Nations Development Programme noted this was met in 2006, ahead of 2015 deadline. We continue to work closely with Ghana to address the issues that matter to us both, in line with their vision of Ghana Beyond Aid, and our International Development Strategy. Details of UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend data is available through our publication Statistics on International Development: final UK aid spend 2021 (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-final-uk-aid-spend-2021): country bilateral ODA, including for Ghana, can be found in Additional Table A4a. Spend data for 2022/2023 will be available in Autumn 2023.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in his Department are working on the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (a) as of 12 December and (b) on average between 20 June and 12 December 2022.

Leo Docherty: The FCDO remains committed to the resettlement of eligible people in the UK under the first year of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) Pathway 3. The FCDO's share of this effort under Pathway 3 is under constant review. The FCDO Afghan Resettlement and Relocations Departments have been staffed by approximately 10 - 20 people throughout the year working to deliver Pathway 3, including a dedicated team of caseworkers.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is aware of any instances of people who have died since expressing an interest in Pathway 3 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.

Leo Docherty: Under Pathway 3 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), the Government is considering eligible at-risk British Council and GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni located in Afghanistan and the neighbouring region for resettlement in the UK. The FCDO is in regular contact with Gardaworld and British Council. We are not aware of the death of a contractor, or a Chevening alumnus, since Pathway 3 of the ACRS opened.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many of the expressions of interest received for pathway 3 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme have been processed.

Leo Docherty: Under Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) Pathway 3, the FCDO received over 11,400 Expressions of Interest (EOIs) before the window to submit EOIs closed on 15 August 2022. We have informed just under 200 individuals that they are eligible in principle for resettlement, subject to passing security checks. Including their dependents, this accounts for over 750 of the 1500 available places on Pathway 3. We have issued over 2,000 rejection letters to those who did not meet the eligibility criteria under Pathway 3. We are continuing to work at pace to allocate the remaining places and will notify those who expressed interest of the outcome as quickly as is practicable.

British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty

Sir James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of potential changes in the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory; and what assessment he has made of the relevance to those policies of the lessons learned from the lease of Hong Kong from China.

David Rutley: The UK and Mauritius have decided to begin negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory/Chagos Archipelago. You will appreciate that we are not able to provide any detail on the content of ongoing discussions, or speculate on the possible outcome of negotiations. However, we will keep Members and Parliament informed at key junctures.

Israel: Palestinians

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussion he has had with his counterpart in Israel on the rights of people in Palestinian.

David Rutley: The UK continues to engage with the Israeli Government on human rights issues in the context of the occupation. Officials at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv continue to call upon the Government of Israel to fully respect the human rights of people in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). The Minister for the Middle East, Lord Ahmad, discussed the Middle East Peace Process during a meeting with the Israeli Ambassador to the UK on 24 November.

Salah Hamouri

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to the Government of Israel on the threatened revocation of Salah Hammouri’s residency in Jerusalem.

David Rutley: We have called upon the Government of Israel to fully respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of human rights defenders and organisations, and to allow them to freely operate in Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Ministry of Defence

Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many regular (a) Navy, (b) Army and (c) Royal Air Force personnel conducted at least one day’s duty assigned to Military Aid to Civil Authorities tasking in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, (iii) 2021 and (iv) 2022.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many reserve (a) Naval Service, (b) Army, c) Royal Air Force personnel conducted at least one day’s duty assigned to a MACA tasking in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020 (iii) 2021 and (iv) 2022.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel were assigned to a MACA tasking within six months of returning from operational service overseas in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021 and (d) 2022.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many days of annual leave allowance were cancelled by (a) Naval Service, (b) Army and (c) Royal Air Force personnel as a result of MACA taskings in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, (iii) 2021 and (iv) 2022.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many days of separated service were accrued by (a) Naval Service, (b) Army, (c) Royal Air Force personnel as a result of MACA taskings in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, (iii) 2021 and (iv) 2022.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department refunded in nugatory holiday expenditure to service personnel assigned to MACA taskings in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021 and (d) 2022.

James Heappey: It will take time to collate the information needed to answer the right hon. Member's Questions. I will write to him when it is available.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Environment Agency: Finance

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding his Department has made available to the Environment Agency to (a) monitor and (b) classify bathing water in beaches and waterways in each of the last five years.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency is allocated Environment Protection Grant in Aid funding in total from Government rather than Grant in Aid by activity. This is then allocated to teams delivering Environment Protection. A range of different teams delivering Environmental Protection contribute towards bathing water quality as well as other core outcomes. This limits breakdown beyond the level set out below, which represents a total of resource and capital funding. However, funding for 2022/23 includes £2.2 million, specifically for water company enforcement activity, including at least 4,000 farm visits per year and 500 sewerage inspections. £m18/1919/2020/2121/2222/23Environment Protection Grant in Aid funding707494127142

Home Office

Asylum: Children

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 , if she will take steps to transfer unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to the UK.

Robert Jenrick: The UK has a long and proud history of providing protection to those who need it.The Government met its one-off statutory commitment to transfer 480 unaccompanied asylum seeking-children (UASC) from Europe to the UK under Section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.In addition to the many unaccompanied children who are being cared for, we have been dealing with significant numbers of children crossing the Channel on small boats.Generally, UASC enter the care system as looked after children. The latest published statistics from the Department for Education, for the year ending 31 March 2022, show there were 5,540 UASC being cared for in England alone, an increase of 34% from the previous reporting year. This does not include the high intake seen this summer.This sharp increase has placed significant pressure on local authorities and it is important that we focus on ensuring that we can take care of those children already in the UK. At this moment, bringing in additional unaccompanied children from Europe would not be in the best interests of those children already being cared for in the UK.

Migrants: Detainees

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when they expect the Kings Arms Project to publish the Alternatives To Detention report.

Robert Jenrick: The first Community Engagement Pilot, Action Access, provided women who would otherwise be detained with a programme of support in the community. This pilot concluded on 31 March 2021 after operating for two years, as planned. To increase external credibility of evaluation, the UNHCR appointed the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to independently evaluate this work. The independent evaluation of Action Access was published on 24 January 2022.The second pilot, the Refugee and Migrant Advisory Service, supported both men and women in the community and remained in operation for two years until June 2022. The independent evaluation of the Refugee and Migrant Advisory Service is expected to be published by NatCen early next year.

Slavery: British Nationality

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the specific needs of British national victims of modern slavery and the pathways and barriers to accessing support.

Robert Jenrick: The Government is committed to ensuring all adult victims of modern slavery can access needs-based support through the government funded Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC), alongside support provided by wider statutory services.Local authorities are responsible for supporting and safeguarding child victims of modern slavery. The Government has rolled out Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTGs) to two thirds of local authorities in England and Wales as a source of advice and support for potentially trafficked children and to advocate for the child’s best interests within decision-making processes.Support for victims in Scotland and Northern Ireland is provided by the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive respectively.

Members: Correspondence

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the email of 25 October 2022 from the hon. Member for Liverpool Walton relating to Saber Ali Hamad.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has no record of receiving this correspondence.

Asylum: Children

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding the Government provides to local authorities which are required to look after unaccompanied minors who are claiming asylum; and what costs that funding is intended to cover.

Robert Jenrick: All local authorities receive funding via the Local Government Finance Settlement or finance arrangements which apply to the Devolved Administrations. Additionally, the Home Office provides a financial contribution to the costs incurred by local government supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) and former UASC care leavers.Local authorities supporting the greatest number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children relative to their general child population receive a rate of £143 per night for each unaccompanied asylum-seeking child. This higher rate applies to local authorities supporting UASC totalling 0.07% or greater of their general child population. All other local authorities receive £114 per person per night for each unaccompanied asylum-seeking child in their care. All local authorities supporting former UASC care leavers receive £270 per person per week.We have very recently launched a new funding pilot, on a fixed term basis. This pilot will look to provide additional funding to local authorities and their Northern Ireland equivalent to support the building of suitable infrastructure. The pilot consists of two stages, with the first stage introducing a new conditional lump sum payment of £15,000 to accompany the transfer of each unaccompanied asylum-seeking child and a conditional second stage that will only be offered if we have seen a significant reduction in occupancy in temporary accommodation.

Asylum: Local Government

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department undertook on the ability of local authorities to support numerous asylum seekers located within the local authority area by her Department with approximately 24 hours notice.

Robert Jenrick: Our ability to find suitable accommodation for people as quickly as is necessary has been impacted by the unprecedented numbers of people crossing the Channel.As I outlined in my letter to MP’s issued on 18th November, we have taken immediate steps to improve levels of engagement with key stakeholders, including Local Authorities. These standards will be reviewed regularly and, wherever possible, progressively raised.In sourcing specific sites, accommodation providers conduct a series of due diligence checks before mobilisation to ensure that accommodation is statutorily and regulatory compliant. We also continue to work closely with local authorities on full asylum dispersal to ensure fairer distribution across the UK.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her medium term plan is for accommodation for asylum seekers.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office aims to gradually end the use of hotels and move asylum seekers to less expensive and more suitable dispersed accommodation, aided by the full asylum dispersal model which was announced on 13 April 2022.The Department has established a programme of work to actively encourage the three private providers of asylum accommodation and Local Authorities to support the procurement of sufficient dispersed accommodation. Each of the private providers have supplied plans to increase the availability of dispersed accommodation on a month-by-month basis. Proactive monitoring has been crucial to the programme. This has included regular assessment of performance and tracking progress against plan, and challenging providers on the specific initiatives that they are putting in place to support the closure of hotels.The Home Office will shortly bring forward a range of larger alternative sites that are cheaper for the taxpayer such as disused holiday parks, former student halls, and surplus military sites.

Visas: Ukraine

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the waiting time is for visas for family members of Ukrainian nationals who have been granted leave to remain in the UK; and whether her Department is allocating additional resources to expedite those applications.

Robert Jenrick: Whilst there is no published service standard for applications submitted under Ukraine Schemes, we aim to conclude all Ukrainian scheme applications as quickly as possible. Since the launch of the Ukraine Schemes resources from the Home Office, and other Government Departments, have been deployed to process these applications as swiftly as possible.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Weather: Damage

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to local authorities of dealing with damage caused by the increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather due to climate change.

Lee Rowley: Local authorities have a crucial role to play in managing climate impacts at the local level. The upcoming National Adaptation Programme by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs due next year will respond to the 61 risks and opportunities set out in the Climate Change Risk Assessment earlier this year. The Programme will set out how we are working together with local authorities to adapt to climate impacts.The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023/24 makes available an additional £5 billion to councils in England, an increase of 9% in cash terms compared to 2022/23. Taking 2022/23 and 2023/24 together, we have increased the funding available to local government in England in real terms. The majority of this funding is un-ringfenced in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities, including dealing with extreme weather.For councils in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the respective devolved administrations may hold this information.

Elections: Proof of Identity

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment has he made on feasibility of bringing in Voter ID for local elections in May 2023.

Lee Rowley: The department is working closely with local authorities, Valuation Joint Boards, and electoral organisations to support the implementation of voter identification in May 2023 and beyond.In line with longstanding government policy, New Burdens funding has been provided to local authorities to cover the additional costs as a result of the changes.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

FIFA: Equality

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government has made representations to the FIFA President on his remarks on equality and inclusion on 20 November 2022.

Stuart Andrew: Sport operates independently of the government, therefore direct representations to FIFA on equality and inclusion would be a matter for Home Nation football governing bodies to raise.The Government continues to work with National Governing Bodies of sport and sector organisations to tackle LGBT discrimination in local, national and international sport. Our aim is to increase diversity within sporting organisations and to help the sport sector be more inclusive and welcoming to its spectators, participants and people in its workforce.